Sea-Level Dynamics in Quaternary Environments

The Quaternary period has been characterised by repeated cycles of glacial advance and retreat that have driven eustatic sea-level changes of up to 120 metres. Sea-level dynamics in this era result from the interplay of ice-sheet volume fluctuations, glacial isostatic adjustment, tectonic uplift or subsidence, and regional oceanographic processes. Evidence is preserved in marine and lacustrine terraces, submerged shorelines, speleothems, corals and sedimentary sequences. These archives are dated using radiometric methods and stratigraphic markers, enabling reconstructions of relative sea level through Marine Isotope Stages (MIS). Advances in high-resolution chronologies and three-dimensional geophysical modelling have refined our understanding of spatial variability in past sea-level change, revealing metre-scale deviations from global mean sea level in forebulge zones, near former ice margins and along active margins. Integration of principal component analyses from deep-sea cores has improved global stacks of Late Pleistocene sea level, reducing uncertainties from local salinity and temperature effects. The coupling of geodynamic models with field-based observations has elucidated the timing, rate and magnitude of past highstands and lowstands, particularly during warm intervals such as MIS 5e and MIS 11. Insights from Quaternary sea-level research inform projections of future coastal change, underpinning risk assessments for low-lying regions worldwide.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have combined detailed field mapping of uplifted and submerged terraces with geochronological techniques to disentangle tectonic and sea-level signals. One investigation of fluvial and eolian deposits intercalated with tephras along reverse-faulted terraces has demonstrated how riverine landforms can register episodic co-seismic uplift and its impact on local relative sea level. In a complementary study, refined records of the Last Interglacial highstand revealed asynchronous contributions of Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets. This work employed stratigraphic correlation and novel proxy data to show that Antarctic ice-sheet melt led the initial sea-level rise around 129–125 ka, followed by a combined contribution from both poles between 123.5 and 118 ka. Implied rates of rise of several metres per century during these intervals underscore the potential for rapid sea-level change under comparable warm-climate conditions.

Sea-Level Dynamics in Quaternary Environments publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in sea-level dynamics in quaternary environments across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Marine Isotope Stage (MIS): A numbered warm or cold interval in Earth’s history inferred from oxygen isotope ratios in marine sediments.

Relative sea level (RSL): The height of the sea surface relative to the land surface at a specific location, influenced by global eustasy and local vertical land movement.

Glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA): The viscoelastic response of the Earth’s crust and mantle to loading and unloading by ice sheets, affecting local sea-level changes.

Marine terrace: A former wave-cut platform now elevated or submerged, serving as a geomorphic marker of past sea levels.

Uranium–thorium dating: A radiometric technique used to date carbonate materials such as corals and speleothems, based on decay of uranium isotopes to thorium.

References

1. The Sendai river terraces monitored the co-seismic mega-thrusting. Scientific Reports (2023).
2. Constraining the end of the Last Interglacial (MIS 5e) relative sea-level highstand in central Mediterranean: New data from Grotta delle Capre, central Italy. Global and Planetary Change (2024).
3. A Late Pleistocene sea level stack. Climate of the Past (2016).
4. Asynchronous Antarctic and Greenland ice-volume contributions to the last interglacial sea-level highstand. Nature Communications (2019).
5. Sea level ~400 000 years ago (MIS 11): analogue for present and future sea-level?. Climate of the Past (2010).
6. The effect of lateral variations in Earth structure on Last Interglacial sea level. Geophysical Journal International (2021).